PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Minot State baseball team fell 18-19 in game one and 8-2 in game two in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan.
Minot State is now 1-3 after the opening weekend of the season while the Gorillas improved to 6-4 on the season.
Game One
Kyle Williamson led off the game with a triple to right center and
Darrel Doll drew a walk before
Celestino Rodriguez hit a three-run home run to left center to give Minot State a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
Pittsburg State added one run in the second inning off an RBI double to trim the Beaver lead down to 3-1. The Beavers got the run back in the next half inning, as Doll doubled down the right field line to score
Michael Borst.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the third inning, the Gorillas tallied four runs before
Jaymon Cervantes came in to replace starter
Reilly O'Rourke on the mound. Pitt State added one more run to re-gain the lead at 6-4 after three complete innings.
The Beavers took the lead a final time in the top of the fifth inning. Borst singled home
Zack Kunkel after Kunkel reached on a single. After a Gorilla pitching change, Rodriguez singled to left field to score Borst, tying the game at six. With the bases loaded,
Geordie McDougall hit a 2 RBI double to give Minot State an 8-6 lead.
Minot State added one more run in the sixth inning after Borst posted an RBI single to left field to score Williamson, giving the Beavers a 9-6 lead.
The Gorillas scored four runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and four more in the eighth inning to clinch an 18-9 victory in game three of the series.
O'Rourke lasted 2.1 innings in the start, striking out four batters while having four runs scored against on six hits.
Aaron Bernal was tagged with the loss after giving up eight runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Also making relief appearances on the mound were
Jaymon Cervantes,
Aaron Kern and
Lane Biggs.
Borst led the Beavers at the plate with four hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Rodriguez went 2-5 at the plate with a home run and three RBI. Williamson and Kunkel also added two hits apiece.
Game Two
Pitt State scored one run in the first inning and added five in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead after two innings.
The Beavers trimmed the PSU lead to four with two runs in the fourth inning. Williamson drew a bases-loaded walk to score
Andrew Black and Kunkel hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score
Dustin Wilcox.
Pitt State scored one run apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to win 8-2 and take the series 3-1. The Gorillas scored eight runs on nine hits and committed two errors while the Beavers scored their two runs on three this and committed five errors.
Starter Andrew Hackman struck out five batters in four innings of work while giving up eight hits in the loss. Three of the seven runs Hackman gave up on the mound were earned.
Jack Gamba pitched the final two innings in relief while giving up one run on one hit while striking out one Pitt State batter.
Williamson and Kunkel recorded one RBI each while Black, Wilcox and
Trevaun Smith added one hit apiece.
The Beavers return to action with a doubleheader vs. Concordia-St. Paul on Monday, March 5. The two games will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. beginning at 11 a.m.
